Postcards
by yas-m
Summary: Set post season 5. Assuming Jack's plan works and they land in LA, Kate is a wanted fugitive, and her only chance of survival is running. She knows that, Jack knows that.
1. The Airport, the Con and the Good Bye

**Title:** Postcards

**Characters: **Jack/Kate

**Rating: **PG 13

**Summary: **Set post s5. Jack's plan works, and they land safely in LA. But Kate has to run, and Jack has to help her.

**Note:** It's four parts. Posting the first three together because I am that awesome ;)

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**Part One: The Airport**

September 22, 2004

He glances towards her once during the flight, and she looks back at him. She holds his gaze. This one look is enough to say all that is needed to be said. She is going to run. He is going to help her.

LAX is busy, as usual. She is the last one to get off the plane. Security measures will not have her strolling off casually. He waits for her, though. He goes through some paperwork and is given orders how to claim his father's coffin. He waits. He watches his friends, most now strangers, make their way through the exists. He sees Hurley's mom welcome her son with her trademark hug and smile. His father awkwardly stands behind, until Hurley pulls him into the family group hug. He watches Sayid slip out quickly and into a cab. He notices Michael and Walt argue as they walk right next to him, oblivious to his presence.

He sees Claire, a very pregnant and frightened Claire, go through her pocket for change, as she steps into the line of public phones and dials a number off of a crumpled old paper. He notices her frustration as no one picks up, and senses her fear multiply. He knows he will have to do something. But not now.

Kate waits impatiently as Mars coordinates with airport security. She hears the words "extremely dangerous" for what must be the hundredth time, and she swears under her breathe.

I feels like hours before she is off the plane. She has to wait another thirty minutes as another set of administrative procedures have to be completed. She sees Sun and Jin standing at a distance, talking quietly, and for the first time in a long while, she is terrified. Sun gives her a small nod and Jin smiles sympathetically.

She nudges Mars and says she has to use the ladies' room. He grumbles under his breath something about already going on the plane, but still he motions to when of the female security personnel to take her. The security guard shoves her into the stall and warns her about the one minute rule.

"Are you gonna watch me? I have a shy bladder," Kate retorts as the other woman continues to stand.

She scoffs and shuts the door, "you're down to 45 seconds."

Kate swallows the lump in her throat and waits before she says "do you have...ummm... lady products?"

"You've got to be kidding me!" the guard cuffs Kate to a pipe before she walks out hurriedly.

Sun sneaks out of the stall next to Kate and hands her a tweezers, "that's all I have, sorry."

"It's ok, it'll work... Sun... Thank you so much," Kate says working on the cuffs.

"Jack's waiting for you outside. He says you know where..." Sun says and looks to Kate who silently confirms that she does, "good luck, Kate," Sun whispers and quickly makes an exit making sure no one can see her.

The window is high and small, but Kate has been through worse. She reminds herself of the duct in the hatch and thinks at least no one is shooting at her this time, not yet.

She makes it to where Jack is waiting without anyone noticing her. Jack is standing there nervously with his hands in his pockets; he doesn't see her as she almost runs into him. He holds onto her elbows to steady her and her hands are on his chest as she catches her breath, and she realizes his heart is beating as fast as hers.

"Please tell me you two weren't thinking this escape plan of yours is gonna work?" a voice speaks roughly from behind them.

His voice is startling, yet oddly comforting.

"Sawyer...what're you doing here?" Jack asks the man walking up behind him.

"I'm helping you both not get arrested. You're too pretty for jail, doc," Sawyer replies, his voice somewhere between anger and genuine concern, "do you even have a real plan? Or were you hoping to just drive off into the sunset and disappear in Obviousville, Mexico?"

Kate swallows hard and looks to Jack. They really hadn't thought about the whole plan.

"ok, here's what we do..."

* * *

**Part Two: The Con**

The plan was simple. Kate was to steal a car and make sure she gets caught on one of the security cameras. She was then to drive around a couple of blocks and into an abandoned building where Jack and Sawyer were waiting.

"What are you going to do now, Sawyer?" Jack asked as they sat awkwardly in the dark underground parking waiting for Kate.

"You really wanna do small talk now?" Sawyer replied, and Jack nodded apologetically.

A few minutes passed by before Sawyer spoke again, " I was thinking I'd go on a road trip across the country, maybe meet my daughter somewhere along the way... I thought I'd try Florida for a while. Heard there's a great security company in Miami," Sawyer said, his voice slightly cracking by the end.

"Sawyer...I'm really sorry,"

They sat in silence for another ten minutes before Kate came into the parking.

"Was everything ok?" Jack asked her, jumping out of his car.

"Yes, did you get everything?" Kate asked him and he led her to the trunk.

Both cars were out of the building five minutes later and drove in opposite directions.

The car Kate stole was found at around midnight. It was found abandoned off the main road a few miles away from the Mexican border. The police report said they also found the clothes the fugitive was wearing in the trunk. They also found a used bottle of blonde hair dye and an empty box of blue contact lenses. They also found a handful of cut wavy brown hair.

Jack and Kate watched the report in his apartment. They sat in his living room. They watched the news nervously as the chief of police explained how they were now looking for a blue eyed woman, with short blond hair heading towards Mexico.

Kate laughed despite the situation, "how on earth did Sawyer get the hair?"

"Don't ask," Jack chuckled.

His mother had called him as they were driving back to his apartment. She berated him for being late, for not calling and of course reminded him that his father's death was his fault. He had given her a half hearted excuse about being delayed with paper work at the airport and promised to be there first thing in the morning. He was not sure she believed him. he was not sure it mattered either way.

They sat on his couch for another hour or so. Not really talking, or doing much else. Kate sat with her head on his chest and her arm across his stomach, as Jack entwined his fingers with hers and his other fingers played absentmindedly with her hair.

Neither wanted to do anything because they didn't want to do anything for the last time. Neither said anything because they knew they eventually and inevitably had to say good bye and neither was ready for that.

* * *

**Part Three: The Goodbye**

He broke the silence first. He brought his thumb soft to her cheek and pushed away from him to look at her face. He took her face in both of his hands.

"I love you,"

His lips were on hers before she could tell him she loved him too. Softly at first, but the kiss grew more urgent, more passionate, more desperate. If he wasn't going to let her say the words back, she was going to show him how much she loved him. She pulled him on top of her as she brought them to lie down. Moans were mixing with tears as they both knew this was their first time in this life time, and for all they know their last. She thought about the last time she was in his apartment, and how their love making was mixed with anger and desperation and how different yet similar it felt this time.

He finally released her lips from their breathtaking captivity, to move his down her body as his fingers had found their job of undressing her. She did not hesitate to bring her lips to his ear; she nibbled on his earlobe and whispered,

"I love you too,"

He was left in just his underwear as he lifted off the couch and carried her into the bedroom, "I know."

They woke up a few hours later, their tired sweaty body tangled with the sheets on his bed. He kissed her slowly and got up. "Stay. Don't leave before I come back," he pleaded.

It was his father's funeral today. She wished she could be with him. She also wished she could leave when he was away. That would make it so much easier. But she knew he would need her when he came back, and she knew she would stay.

The funeral was harder without her there. His mother was not as easy to handle this time around. His father's colleagues all seemed to blame Jack. So did all his parents' country club friends. For a minute, Jack wished the plane had never landed back in LA.

He was not sure she would stay until he came back. If he were to be honest with himself, he knew if she left while he was gone, it would be easier than saying good bye to her.

But she did stay. She tried to watch the news for a while, but that was pointless. She dialed Hurley's number three times, but never stayed on the phone long enough to wait for an answer. She tried Sun's cell phone, but she got someone with no knowledge of the English language somewhere in Korea. She reminded herself to let Jack know about that phone call.

Jack walked in with pizza at around seven. He set it down on the kitchen table and went back to her in the living room.

"I got pizza,"

"You shouldn't have,"

He looked at her quizzically and sat down on the coffee table across from her.

She took his hands in hers, "please, Jack, let's not try to pretend that it's normal. It just makes it harder," she choked, the tears streaming freely down her face. Her puffy eyes told him she'd spent the day crying.

He kissed the back of her hands. And felt his own tears beginning to fall.

She put her hands on his face and caressed his stubbled face gently, "promise me one thing," she whispered.

He nodded, as she came down from the couch to kneel between his legs, her fingers now running through his short cropped hair, reminding her how much she missed his hair being longer. His hand was softly running along her arm, and she spoke softly and confidently, "promise me you'll make sure Claire makes the right decision about Aaron."

She kissed quickly, swallowing her sobs, and he pulled her to him to make sure she does not stop their last kiss to early.

It was longer than what she'd planned, but it was over sooner than either of them wished it would be. And before he knew it, she was on her feet and at the door. With one last glance, but not another word she walked out. And he lost her again.

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Thanks for reading. Review if you get the chance :)


	2. The Postcards

Thanks to all of you who reviewed and those who read :)

Here's the last part.

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**Part Four: The Postcards**

September 28, 2004

He spent the rest of that evening and the next day moping around his apartment, realizing that every corner and object was a memory of her, if not in this life, then in the other.

He knew he needed to get up, get out of this state. He had work to do.

Getting back to work was easier than he thought, or at least easier than his superiors thought. They'd given him a couple of weeks to recover, whether from his father's death or the abuse he was getting over his father's death, he wasn't sure. But either way he'd politely rejected, and he was back at the hospital within days.

Getting in touch with Claire was not as easy. He found her easily enough. She'd walked right into his ER less than a week after flight 815 landed. She was having contractions and was afraid she'd gone into labor.

He waited for the ER doctor to release her and walked over to introduce himself. He was hoping that she knew something, anything about Christian. He knew that Claire had seen Christian once. Carol told him how Christian visited her after their car crash, so he'd hoped that she would know his name. He was hoping that if he only introduced himself as Jack Shephard, something would click for her.

Unfortunately, it did not. She looked at him, as if expecting him to say something else. When he said nothing, she smiled apologetically and asked him if he needed anything, if she had to fill in more papers.

He knew anything he says will catch her off guard or freak her out. So all Jack could think of was offering Claire a copy of the hospital newsletter from the nurses' counter and ask her to take care and come back in if she needed anything. Claire eyed him suspiciously but took the newsletter and walked out.

That week's newsletter was a tribute to the great Christian Shephard. Jack prayed Claire would not just toss it in the nearest garbage as she walked out.

Jack walked into his apartment at midnight. He listened to his mother's thirteen phone messages as he skimmed through the mail. Bills, bills, bills, junk mail, invitation to conference… he was about to toss them aside when he saw it.

A postcard. A picture of the Rockies. Four words scribbled on the back,

_I'm Safe. Love, K_

October 6, 2004

He sat in his living room for the rest of the night reading and rereading those four words until he fell asleep on the couch. He kept it in his pocket everywhere he went, and would find himself during the day pulling it out and staring at it, oblivious to anything around him.

He didn't hear back from Claire. He thought she was either mad at him or freaked out by now.

He did hear from Hurley, however. He called him on Sunday and asked him if wanted to play golf. It took Jack slightly by surprise before Hurley reminded him "today's the opening of the island tour, dude".

Jack was on his lunch break when Claire walked into the cafeteria. Jack waited for her to speak first. It was a few minutes before she looked up from staring at the table and said "he died in Sydney."

It wasn't a question. Jack could only nod and wait to see where she was taking this.

"So you're his real, normal family," she said and looked at Jack, her tone soft, but a mix between shame and jealousy. It felt like a kick in the gut for Jack to hear that. He smiled at her sweetly and said, "I wouldn't exactly call us normal."

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, honestly wanting to know why this stranger had interfered to let her know her father was dead.

"Because we're family, too. You deserved to know," he replied. "How long have you known? About me? How did you know I was here?" Claire continued her questioning.

Jack ran it through his head trying to figure out the most believable version, "I just found out, when I was in Sydney, that he had a daughter, that I have a sister. And I hadn't planned to contact you, not right away anyway, until… I don't know, I guess, until things made sense. This is new to me too. But when I saw you in ER the other day, and read your name…" Jack said, trying to make up a story that was less science fiction than the original version.

Claire nodded and got up from her seat. Jack eyed her with suspicion and she turned without a word.

"Wait," Jack called after her and got up to follow her, "I know you are all alone here and…"

"Look, ermm… Jack," she interrupted him, "I'm here in LA to meet the couple who want to adopt the baby… I'm not… I can't do this. Thank you, but he was never my father, never my family. And nothing's changed now," Claire shook her head and looked at Jack one last time, "good bye."

His meeting with Claire hadn't gone as he hoped. He didn't know if he felt worse about letting Kate down or letting Claire down. But seeing Claire, and seeing how hurt and scared she was, he knew he owed to everyone, to his family to not give up.

He spent the rest of the day thinking of how to work things out with Claire. The paperwork on his desk was already piling up. His assistant was not helping when she piled his mail over the little hill he already had. He cursed under his breath and was moving them when the postcard dropped to the floor.

The picture of the blue ocean was a beautiful contrast against the dull grey carpet in his office. His face was beaming as he picked up and flipped it over,

_Sinking my way across the ocean. Forever, K._

October 16, 2004

Claire had visited the hospital twice for regular checkups during the ten days after her meeting with Jack. She didn't make any further contact with him though. Jack did not give up hope. He knew that her continuing her visits to this hospital had to mean something. He gave her the space she wanted. He checked with her doctor that everything was fine, and made sure that we be informed of her condition. He explained that her family were old friends of his and asked him to keep an eye on her.

He saw Hurley again that week. It was becoming a normal thing for them to grab lunch and talk about that other life they lived that did not exist. Hurley enjoyed coming up with theories and analyzing possibilities, and Jack enjoyed having someone he can talk to without pretending nothing ever happened.

His mother called him that evening to let him know he's received mail at her house. She "politely" added that he should let his friends know he no longer lives in his father's house.

Jack drove to her house and picked up the postcard. It was a picture of a Starbucks in what looked like London. He turned it over, and laughed as he read the lines she'd wrote,

_I found a coffee shop. Yours, K._

He stared at it for a few minutes, until his tear fell on the "K". He wiped his eyes and drove out of his parents' drive way.

October 20, 2004

"Am I being punished?" Jack looked up from the chart he was reading to see Claire standing at the door, "I'm giving away my baby, so God is punishing me, He takes away my father?"

"No. No one is punishing you," Jack dropped what he was doing and walked to her, convincing to walk with him to his office.

"Claire, you haven't done anything wrong. Christian's death is not your punishment. I know this must be very hard for you, but…" Jack spoke softly as she sat down next to him on his couch.

"There's no family," she shook her head, letting the tears fall freely now, "the number I have for the adoptive family, it's … it's a recording studio. He lied to me. Why would he lie to me?"

Jack put a hand on her shoulder, trying to figure out what to say next, when she spoke again. "I don't know what to do. There's no one here, and I can't go back now."

"You're not alone, Claire. I know we don't know each other, but we are family, and I want you to know that you do have someone here," he spoke firmly. "If you want to give your baby up for adoption, I can help you… but… if you think that maybe you want to keep him, maybe…" Jack took a deep breath before he could continue, "maybe, if you decide, if you choose… You can do this Claire, he can be your chance of having a real, normal family."

She stood up and wiped her face, "thank you Jack. I still don't understand why you're doing this, or why you want to help me," she put her hand up, asking him to let her finish when he tried to interrupt her, "I know, we share a father. But I don't know you, I trust you, for some reason, I do… " she paused before she added, "Can I call you?"

"Of course," Jack said and watched her walk out the door.

October 27, 2004

Claire called Jack at 2 in the morning the day after they met. She asked him if he wanted to meet for breakfast the next day. He knew it was not going to be easy, but she was willing to try. And she was willing to accept his help. They had breakfast or lunch every day for the next week. It felt strange meeting her for the second time, but he soon realized that he never got to know her the other time, and was thankful he was getting this chance.

He took her to dinner for her birthday and introduced her to Hurley who found it very hard to keep pretending they were meeting for the first time. That night was the most fun either of them had had in ages. Hurley and Claire made plans to look for an apartment for her the next day.

The morning paper the next day came with a little unexpected treat, a postcard. The Eiffel Tower at night. He turned it over and read the longest message she'd written so far,

_Had steak for the first time in years. I don't know what got into me. Spent the next day throwing up. Eternally, K._

November 1, 2004

He was visiting his nephew in the maternity ward when he got paged to the ER. Head on collision. The driver of the first car dead on impact. The passengers of the second barely alive. A brother and a sister. Mid twenties. He knew their names before he heard them.

Boone Carlyle was in much worse condition than his step sister. He'd lost too much blood on the way and the only option was immediate surgery.

It took over six hours. They cut off his leg four hours into the surgery, but things kept getting worse as time progressed.

Shannon Rutherford's conditioned was controlled in ER, but her surgery had to be scheduled on the 7th.

November 9. 2004

Boone woke up a week after the accident. Shannon was told she cannot teach ballet anymore. Hurley suggested she think about teaching French.

Jack had convinced Claire that the idea of being a single mom in a new city and moving into a new apartment was not a smart idea. It took a while, and some big brother attitude, but she agreed to move in with him.

November 21, 2004

He had found that spending more time at home now was easier when his mind was not constantly assigning Kate memories to everything. Claire was slowly getting used to her new life. Hurley had found his place as his best friends' millionaire baby sitter.

Hurley wasn't too shocked to find out about Jack's secret pen pal. It was Sunday and he was brining breakfast. He grabbed their mail as he came in when he saw her last "postcard". It was in an envelope this time, a photo booth strip of pictures. She looked pale. Jack's face dropped with worry, and as if on cue, he read her message,

_It's an ancient photo booth. The quality is horrible. Give Aaron a kiss for me. Love, K._

July 1, 2005

The postcards continued monthly after that.

December 22, 2004

A postcard from Italy

_Merry Christmas. I love you. K._

January 30, 2005

A postcard from Turkey

_Turkish delights are as delightful as they sound. Delightfully, K._

February 24, 2005

A postcard from Russia

_Freezing. Who goes to Russia in February. Wish I can drink all the vodka I want to stay warm. Frostfully, K._

March 31, 2005

A postcard from India

_Apparently I cannot handle spices like I thought I can. Rashfully, K._

April 27, 2005

A postcard from Thailand

_Really, Jack? THAT'S Ashara? You were obviously drunk. I miss you too much, K._

But he had not received anything since then. He convinced himself he did not need to worry. She was not globetrotting for fun, after all.

He was babysitting for Claire when the last postcard arrived.

Claire had accidently called the number of the fake adoptive parents recently, and ended up getting a job interview at the studio. The recently clean, ex Drive Shaft member, Charlie Pace, had taken a managerial position at the studio and was looking to hire new blood.

Claire brought in the mail and was ready to divulge every detail of her meeting when she saw her brother obviously preoccupied with the mail.

He tore open the envelope and took the content. It was a photograph of a newborn baby and a note that said,

_His name is JJ, Jack Junior. He has your eyes. I love you._

_ps. I'm in Seoul. I might be staying for a while._

_

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Ok, that's it. Hope it wasn't too horrible. Thanks for reading :)_  
_


	3. Say Cheese

**Title:** Postcards - Part 5

**Characters:** Jack/Kate

**Rating:** PG 13

**Summary:** Set post s5. Jack's plan works, and they land safely in LA. But Kate has to run, and Jack has to help her.

**Note:** This was supposed to end with Part 4, but I promised Franci something happy, this is for you bb

* * *

**Part 5 - Say Cheese**

_3 April, 2009_

"Dani!" Claire yelled, running down the corridor, "Dani! Please stop!"

The 18 month old ignored Claire and continued down the hall giggling. "Dani, give it back! I can't run with these stupid heels!" Claire cursed under her breath at the annoying footwear as she tried to keep up with the gleeful child.

* * *

"Alright, I got it, hang on one sec, little dude," Hurley said, fumbling with Aaron's tie. "Careful, man. Don't choke my boy, ok?" Charlie joked working the knot on his own tie.

Hurley laughed, "when was it decided to go all formal with this anyway? I thought we'd agreed it's gonna be at Mr. Cluck's. I got a sweet deal." Hurley finished Aaron's tie, gave it a nod of approval and moved on to the next boy, "alright, you're up, tiny Jack."

* * *

"Gotcha!" Jack laughed clutching the toddler before she ran straight into him. Dani squealed as he pulled her up and playfully threw her in the air.

"There you are, you little…" Claire said as she caught up with the little girl. "Claire, you ok?" Jack asked seeing her trying to catch her breath. "Fine, I just spent the past five minutes running after Speedy here in these damn heels," she said, jokingly glaring at Dani.

"tsk, tsk, have you been giving aunt Claire a hard time, Dani?" Jack asked, turning to face his daughter who'd wrapped her arms around his neck. Danielle shook her head stubbornly eliciting a sideway head-cock from her father which she knew not to argue with.

She opened her hand to reveal a handful of hair pins and beads she'd obviously stolen from her flustered aunt. "good girls, now give them back to aunt Claire, and let's get you back to Sun so she…" Jack was stopped midsentence when his daughter grabbed his face between her chubby hands, looked him straight in the eyes and said "no!"

"Good luck with that," Claire snickered, grabbing her things and leaving Jack to deal with the stubborn child.

"No? what do you mean 'no'?" Jack asked his daughter. She shook her head and reaffirmed, "no! No Sun. No dress!"

Jack let out a hearty laugh. He should have known his tomboy daughter was not going to make it easy to get her to wear a dress. "Dani, we had a deal, right? You promised that you'll wear the dress for two hours, you'll make mommy and daddy happy and then you get to eat cake all night. Remember?" Jack tried to bribe the little girl for the fourth time that week, poking her playfully on her freckled nose.

Dani looked at him and contemplated the thought for a moment and replied, "chocolate?" Jack laughed and put her back on the ground, holding her hand and leading her to where Sun was waiting, "yes, and chocolate, now let's get you aunt Sun and Ji Yeon."

* * *

"The men are ready," Charlie announced walking into the room with Hurley, Aaron and JJ marching in after him.

"don't you dare gloat about it, Charlie Pace, or I swear I will make you walk around in high heels and I will force you to wear make up!" Claire scowled at him from across the room. She was finishing her makeup next to a frustrated Sun who was trying to get Dani to sit still so she can comb her hair while Ji Yeon was excitedly twirling around the older women in her mini bridesmaid dress.

Charlie gulped dramatically, "yes, ma'am. Ready for your inspection, ma'am!" he said, ordering "his men" into formation. The four of them stood alert in their matching tuxedos until JJ broke rank, "where's mommy?" he asked.

"She's in there, sweetie," Claire said, pointing her nephew in the direction of where Kate was getting ready.

* * *

"Say cheese!"

Kate turned to see her son standing at the doorway clicking an imaginary camera. She smiled proudly as she saw him standing in his tux, looking a split image of his father," look at you! My little man. Are you all done?"

JJ nodded, "uncle Hurley helped me with the tie."

"You look positively dashing," she said walking up to him and taking his hand to leave the room. "no wait," her son stopped her, pulling her arm back to him, "daddy said to give you this," he said pulling a folded napkin out of his pocket and dropping it in her hand.

Kate eyes the napkin quizzically before unfolding it, its contents bringing a smile to her lips. "What is it, mommy?" the little boy asked trying to reach on his tip toes to see.

"They're seeds," she answered, slightly absent mindedly, as her fingers touched the seeds lightly.

"seeds?" JJ asked, scrunching his brow in confusion.

"yeah, guava seeds."

* * *

It was a simple wedding; a spring sunset on the beach with their close friends and family.

Jack's hands were sweating worse than the day of his first surgery and he could swear his heart stopped beating the moment he saw his bride walk down the aisle. Hurley gave her away, and he took his job a little too seriously, insisting to have a "word with the groom" first. Aaron and Ji Yeon led the procession, followed by Jin and Sun and then Charlie and a very pregnant Claire.

Jack Junior and Danielle were the ring bearers.

Jack and Kate wrote their own vows. They made each other cry. They made everyone else cry as well. Hurley made a toast that had everyone laughing and then laughing more when it made Claire snort her drink awkwardly. Danielle was out of her dress halfway through the ceremony and back into her ninja turtles t-shirt and shorts.

Charlie sang a new song he'd written especially for them. Everyone watched the newlywed's first dance as husband and wife. They watched as they danced barefoot under the glimmer of clear starry evening. They watched as Jack pulled Kate closer against him, his hand firm against the small of her back and lower his head; bringing his lips to her ear and whispering something that made Kate pull back and reach on her tiptoes to kiss him, oblivious to everyone who was watching them.

End.

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ok, so now it is really over :) hope you liked.


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